This is the second course in Sociology's Preparing Future Faculty
Program which is designed to continue the preparation of graduate
students in Sociology to teach to a variety of audiences, including
students, and to become active members of the university community.
In this course, students will be asked to take a reflective look at
teaching, to become conversant with the larger issues and literature
on college teaching and higher education, and to make connections to
these issues outside their own classroom by engaging with larger
debates. At this point in your graduate student career, you are
embarking on long-term professional activities in which the
organization, presentation, and evaluation of information is
central. In this course and with experience in teaching, students
will be introduced to topics such as learning theory, learning and
teaching styles and cognitive development. We will focus on
assessment of teaching as well as the practice of teaching, putting
both in larger social and historical context. To that end, students
will deal with the challenge to higher education; issues in the
balance of teaching, research and service; and issues of ethics and
professional responsibility in teaching.
In this course, you will be asked to prepare a contract for learning
tailored both to your own goals and to standards set in this course.
There are a set of minimal requirements that all students will be
expected to fulfill. For example, as always, students will be
required to maintain and update their dossier. As part of their
individualized learning contract, for example, students may choose to
develop a portfolio in addition. We will also require you to begin
to participate in the dissemination of materials on teaching and
learning, for example, by preparing an article, note or book review
for a higher education journal (e.g., Teaching Sociology; Chronicle
of Higher Education). Through the course, you will be introduced to
other members of the teaching community of sociologists and the
community of teachers at Indiana University and across the country.